Students from Shafter Elementary School complete a mandated emergency evacuation drill in September 2017. Such practice drills ensure that students will know how to behave and where to go during emergency situations. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Fabian De Jesus, Directorate of Emergency Services, U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii)

The Department successfully completed its three-month transition process for all 256 schools to eTrition after the previous contract for SchoolCafé ended.

Dann Carlson, assistant superintendent, Office of School Facilities and Support Services added, “We negotiated a $0.13 convenience fee with the new vendor, saving parents $0.67. With the new meal payment system, the transaction fee is also lower at 1.99 percent. The previous transaction fee was 5 percent.”

Parents will still have the option of paying with cash or check at their child’s school at no charge and can use EZSchoolPay to check their balance. The EZSchoolPay is accessible on iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

A letter from HIDOE’s School Food Services Branch will be distributed next week notifying parents about this new system and next steps.

• About the Hawaii State Department of EducationThe Hawaii State Department of Education is the 10th largest U.S. school district and the only statewide educational system in the country. It is comprised of 256 schools and 36 charter schools, and serves about 180,000 students. King Kamehameha III established Hawaii’s public school system in 1840. To learn more, visit HawaiiPublicSchools.org.